Text of report by Spanish national radio on 27 December

[Presenter] Hospitals in Zaragoza have begun carrying out medical tests on around 2,000 soldiers who have served in the former Yugoslavia. The check-ups include sample analysis and radiological tests to determine if there are any cases of haematological illnesses among these servicemen caused by the use of depleted uranium during the conflict in the Balkans. Marisa Marquez reports: [Marquez] Two thousand soldiers who have served in Bosnia and Kosovo have today begun medical check-ups in the military and Miguel Servet hospitals in Zaragoza. The aim is to find out if any of them have any illnesses connected to possible exposure to radioactivity. These tests will enable a study to be carried out to clear up the cause of the leukaemia which led to the death of the 22-year old soldier Antonio Gonzalez Lopez, who died in the Miguel Servet in October after spending four months in Macedonia and Kosovo. The haematologists are cautious about the cause of this quick death, which is very similar to those of other Portuguese and Italian soldiers who were also in the area.

Source: RNE Radio 1, Madrid, in Spanish 1700 gmt 27 Dec 00
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC

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